TORONTO -- In the heated aftermath of a loss in New Jersey earlier this week, Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock remarked that it was "evident how young we are."

Though he retreated from that stance somewhat Friday afternoon, it proved an accurate description of the club's first quarter this season. Youth has both fuelled and imperilled the Leafs after 20 games.

"We do lots of good things. We do lots of silly things," Babcock said after the team's most recent practice. "And we've gotten a lot better, but we've got a long way to go."

What's good is obvious.

Booming with young skill, the Leafs' offence has been one of the league's best with an average of just over three goals a game. Arguably Toronto's most dangerous forward has been rookie Mitch Marner, who's tied with fellow 19-year-old Auston Matthews for second in team scoring with 16 points.

Those two, along with William Nylander (15 points) most prominently, have offered dazzling flashes of skill. They have been complemented by veterans like Nazem Kadri (15), James van Riemsdyk (17) and Tyler Bozak (14).

But conversely, the Leafs have struggled to keep the puck out of the net despite Frederik Andersen's improved play (.930 save percentage this month). The club ranks near the bottom of the league in goals against (3.25) and shots against per game (33.2).

Inexperience has been a factor as the Maple Leafs have simply looked overwhelmed at times.

"The big key is being in good position, not puck-watching out there and getting lost in the (defensive) zone," Matthews said, noting how common it was for young players, especially centres, to get spun around that way.

Babcock has even taken to flipping his weakest defensive player (Nylander) off a line with Matthews on the road in hopes of minimizing potential damage.

The Leafs have shown an inability to close out games, especially those where the margins are slim.

Of Toronto's eight wins, five have been by three goals or more. The club sports a 3-4-4 record in one-goal games, a bottom-five mark league-wide.

The Leafs have also had a hard time holding on to leads. They've dropped a league-worst five games when leading after two periods (7-1-4).

A 3-0 lead in New Jersey on Wednesday night didn't even get that far. The Leafs saw their cushion unravel in a six-minute span in the second period and they eventually lost 5-4 in a shootout.

After that defeat, Babcock described two of the plays that led to goals as "basically free gifts." On the first, Morgan Rielly fired a puck along the wall in the defensive zone, his defensive partner (and rookie) Nikita Zaitsev chasing it nearly the whole way out.

That left the club exposed when the puck didn't make it out and Travis Zajac cut Toronto's lead to 3-1.

Less than three minutes later, rookie Zach Hyman failed to push a puck deep into New Jersey territory. Beau Bennett eventually came back to score with two seconds left on the power play.

The Devils added the tying marker when Michael Cammalleri outmanoeuvred Rielly for control of a rebound in front of backup goaltender Jhonas Enroth.

Babcock said the mistakes, addressed in a Friday morning meeting, were demonstrations of a group that was still learning to win.

"It can go pretty fast," Nylander said of playing with a lead. "I think it's maybe just learning."

"We're all young so you've got to be like a sponge, soak everything in, learn as much as possible from the coaching staff, the older players on the team that have been around for a while, just continue to round out each of our games," Matthews added.

The Leafs have a solid 7-3-0 mark at home but have won just once in 10 tries on the road (1-5-4). With 11 of the next 20 games to be played away from Air Canada Centre, Babcock said improved road play would be key to the team remaining in the playoff race.

Toronto was a few points back of a wild-card spot heading into Saturday's home game against the Washington Capitals, last season's President's Trophy winner. Toronto is aiming to grab six points in each five-game segment, a mark they've fallen just short of thus far with 20 points through 20 games.

"We're OK with where we're at," Rielly said. "I think we would like to be a bit higher, but that being said it's really early. There's lots of hockey left to play."